Bombers wary of surging Elks

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This article was published 19/09/2024 (414 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Before you can win, first you have to believe.

It’s a lesson the Winnipeg Blue Bombers learned some time ago, and a feeling they’ve tried to hold on to in the years since. You don’t go on the kind of run the Bombers have — including making it to the last four Grey Cups, winning twice — without truly believing in yourself, your teammates and the organization you play for.

“Oh, man, it’s everything,” Bombers defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger said earlier this week when asked about the power of belief. “A synonym for that belief is buy-in. When you’ve got guys who are willing to sacrifice personal success in order for team success, that’s the kind of result you get.”

Younger added: “When I say it’s everything, hats off to Jarious Jackson and the way he’s been able to get everything kind of turned around there, and get those guys believing, buying into what they do.”

Younger was referring to interim head coach Jarious Jackson of the Edmonton Elks, the Bombers Week 16 opponent on Saturday. It will mark the first game between the two clubs and the first of a home-and-home series that could have significant ramifications on the West Division standings.

Call it bad timing, with the Bombers arriving to Commonwealth Stadium with Edmonton among the hottest teams in the league, winners in five of its last six games. It’s been a remarkable turnaround for the Elks, who opened the season with seven straight losses, firing their GM and head coach Chris Jones before finally turning things around to get back into the playoff hunt.

“You see what happens when a team starts believing in themselves and they play with confidence. We’re going to have our hands full,” Bombers right guard Patrick Neufeld predicted. “They’re playing highly motivated, and they’re playing physical, so we’re going to have to match that intensity and come out swinging.”

Asked to expand on what happens when a team truly believes in its ability to win every game, even in those moments where a victory seems out of reach, Neufeld pointed in a few different directions. While there are statistics and records one could look at to determine the value of an organization, belief is an intangible aspect of overall success and therefore sometimes difficult to assess.

When it’s there, you can certainly see it and feel it.

“You don’t think about records. You don’t think about outcomes. You just focus on you and what you do on a play-to-play basis. And, ultimately, your teammates have your back no matter what happens out there,” Neufeld added. “So, there’s no finger pointing; the accountability is high. You’re playing free, you’re playing physical, you’re running around, playing football the way it’s supposed to be played. So, that’s what we’re seeing on tape. Hopefully, that’s how we’re going to play, too.”

For Bombers offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce, it’s about having a strong belief in the work you’re putting in away from games that leads to making plays during them. It’s not just simply possessing the confidence, either. It’s about earning it, and it needs to be felt across the entire locker room.

The Elks, despite boasting a 5-8 record, have skyrocketed up several statistical categories, on offence and defence. They currently lead the CFL in points per game (29.6); touchdowns (42); rushing yards per game (117); first downs (290); fewest turnovers (17) and most interceptions for (20). “There are Xs and Os and you can look at different things that contribute to winning and losing from a statistical point and analytics point, but it comes down to the guys on the field believing in each other, doing it for the right reasons, understanding what wins football,” Pierce said. “That’s what you see from Edmonton. You see a team playing with confidence and a team having fun. We got to make sure that we’re smart, and we match their physicality. And then it just comes down to execution, and they’re executing on both ends and playing complementary football.”

The same could be said for the Elks when it comes to bad timing. The Bombers are also in the midst of a resurgence after starting the year 0-4.

The Bombers were 2-6 and coming off a short week when they hosted the surging B.C. Lions, who were fresh off a bye. Few outside the organization had Winnipeg winning that game, let alone watching the Bombers completely dismantle the Lions 25-0.

The Blue and Gold haven’t lost since, ripping off five consecutive victories to pace the West.

“If a team loses that, you’re probably done. You have to always believe,” veteran defensive lineman Jake Thomas said. “Even this year, when we were 2-6, I think everyone in that locker room still believed we were going to turn things around. That’s something very important, because if you don’t have that belief, it’s going to be hard to win games.”

“It’s an infectious feeling, and it’s a feeling that you fight to keep every day,” added Neufeld. “You keep it in meetings, you keep in practice, you keep it with your energy. Once you capture that, it takes work. It doesn’t just stay there. It takes work to keep. I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job of that over the years, and it’s a continual process. It’s something you have to keep working on. We’re still battling for that, too.”

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While the Bombers have shown the Elks the respect they deserve, that doesn’t mean they aren’t focused on crushing it. The stakes are incredibly high in this one, with Edmonton in fourth place but just four points behind the Bombers in first.

An Elks victory would put them within striking distance of the Bombers, with a win next week enough to catch up to Winnipeg. A loss, however, would put Edmonton in serious danger of missing the playoffs, especially if the Elks lose twice in as many weeks.

“We’re not focusing on the outcome on that side of things, but I think in the back of everyone’s mind, they have an understanding of the significance of this series coming up against them,” Neufeld said. “We’re going to take it on a play-by-play basis, but ultimately, our goal is to get the season series on them.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.